This Week's Random Bits

I attended my first, and last, Ladies' Night Out with my group of FRG gals here this week. I hated to take off during one of the last weeks Eric and I will have together for a while, but... I needed to take off during the last free nights I'll have for the next 8 weeks. Plus, these are wonderful ladies, and I don't get together with them nearly enough.
We went to a charity event at the Melting Pot in Louisville to benefit St. Jude's Childrens Hospital. The food... oh my goodness... Have you been to the Melting Pot before? I had not. Oh. My. Goodness.
Ladies in Kentucky party in hats. Regretfully, all I have are baseball caps, which clashed with my kitten heels.

Hannah is very devoted to journal time lately. She has three little notepads that she's constantly 'writing' in, though don't let her catch you calling it a notebook: it's a journal. It's fantastic to watch her deep in thought, 'writing.'

Amelia during some family drawing time. Can you tell I trimmed her mullet? A whole inch! She looks like such a little lady now!

The weather is sporadic this week. We take advantage of outside time when we can. At least, with 'inside time' comes more craft time. I seem to remember a special Hallmark Holiday approaching... The girls were very excited to craft some cards this week. Hannah, with encouragement, signed her name in all of them, too. She refused to learn how to write "Grandma." Sorry, Grandma!

A little gardening! We planted some sunflower seeds in a backyard bed, and a few Super-tunias and seeds in our baskets and one large planter out front. We're keeping it really simple since we're moving at the end of summer. Other than our hanging baskets, all of our outside planters (3 large and 6 small) were discovered last winter on someone's curb. Again, I practically jumped from a moving vehicle to claim them, and I distinctly remember a phone conversation with my sister as I'm standing at the gas station, vacuuming potting soil off the floor of our trunk because one of them tipped over on the drive home. But that only cost me 4 quarters, so who gets the last laugh? Mwa-ha-ha!!

Miss Hannah-Bee and me at the park. She refused to let me work the camera here, but I actually quite like her picture. Between the two of us, we almost have an entire face.
This girl cracks me up! We've celebrated her 5th birthday three times in the last two weeks. Basically, we find whatever baked goods we have in the house, pop some candles into them, and sing 'Happy Birthday' to the whole family after dinner. We decided to leave the cloth celebration banner pinned up in the dining room in anticipation of yet another 'birthday.' At this rate, it may remain up until Amelia's (real) 2nd birthday!
Eric has officially started BNCOC this week. I forget what this particular acroynym stands for, as there several. Hundred. Let me ask the DH about this ASAP. Anyway, the gist of it: it's a 10 week training school for soldiers once they've been promoted to Staff Sergeant. They take lots of classes, like leadership, Army history, sexual harrasment prevention, etc. It's exciting stuff.
Regardless, we are lucky that the first two weeks of this course take place right here on Fort Knox. So Eric will be able to come home each night, and will also have Sunday off. But the remainder of his BNCOC will take place at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Norfolk, VA. He will be gone from May 17 - July 17. We are not exactly looking forward to this, but it could be a lot worse.
And that is this week, in a nutty nutshell.